Serbia at the Olympics

Serbia at the Olympic Games

Flag of Serbia
IOC code  SRB
NOC Olympic Committee of Serbia
Websitewww.oks.org.rs (Serbian)
Olympic history
Summer Games
Winter Games
Other related appearances
Yugoslavia (1920–1992W)
Independent Olympic Participants (1992S)
Serbia and Montenegro (1996–2006)

Serbia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1912 as the Kingdom of Serbia. Serbia returned to the Olympics as an independent team after ninety-six years at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despite not participating in the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, Serbian king Aleksandar Obrenović attended the games at the invitation of Greek king George I and at these Games Momčilo Tapavica who competed for Hungary, became the first ethnic Serb to win an Olympic medal, bronze in tennis.[1] From 1920 to the 1992 Winter Olympics Serbian athletes participated as part of the Yugoslavian team. At the 1992 Summer Olympics they participated as Independent Olympic Participants as their nation was under United Nations sanctions. The continuing sanctions meant that no Serbian athletes competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Sanctions were mostly lifted in 1995. From the 1996 Summer Olympics to the 2006 Winter Olympics they participated as part of the Serbia and Montenegro team.

The best example to illustrate the situation is the seven-time Olympian shooter and the 1988 gold medalist Jasna Šekarić who competed under four different banners at her twenty-four-year Olympic career. She started under the flag of Yugoslavia in 1988, then she competed as an Independent Participant in 1992, under the flag of Serbia and Montenegro from 1996 to 2004 and in 2008 and 2012 she represented Serbia.

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
Sweden 1912 Stockholm 3 0 0 0 0 –
1920–1988 as part of  Yugoslavia (YUG)
Spain 1992 Barcelona as part of the  Independent Olympic Participants (IOP)
1996–2004 as part of  Serbia and Montenegro (SCG)
China 2008 Beijing 92 0 1 2 3 61
United Kingdom 2012 London 115 1 1 2 4 42
Brazil 2016 Rio de Janeiro
Japan 2020 Tokyo
Total 1 2 4 7 87

Medals by Winter Games

Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
1924–1992 as part of  Yugoslavia (YUG)
Norway 1994 Lillehammer did not participate
1998–2006 as part of  Serbia and Montenegro (SCG)
Canada 2010 Vancouver 10 0 0 0 0 –
Russia 2014 Sochi 8 0 0 0 0 –
South Korea 2018 Pyeongchang
Total 0 0 0 0 –

Medals by sport

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Taekwondo 1 0 0 1
Shooting 0 1 1 2
Swimming 0 1 0 1
Water polo 0 0 2 2
Tennis 0 0 1 1
Total 1 2 4 7

Medalists

Medal Name Games Sport Event
 Silver Milorad Čavić China 2008 Beijing Swimming Men's 100 m butterfly
 Bronze Novak Đoković China 2008 Beijing Tennis Men's singles
 Bronze China 2008 Beijing Water polo Men's tournament
 Gold Milica Mandić United Kingdom 2012 London Taekwondo Women's +67 kg
 Silver Ivana Maksimović United Kingdom 2012 London Shooting Women's 50 m rifle three positions
 Bronze Andrija Zlatić United Kingdom 2012 London Shooting Men's 10 m air pistol
 Bronze United Kingdom 2012 London Water polo Men's tournament

Old countries

The Olympic Committee of Serbia, created in 1910 and recognized in 1912, continues the tradition of the Yugoslav Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committee of Serbia and Montenegro.[2] In the period from 1920 to 2006, athletes representing these defunct countries won a total of 99 medals: 95 at Summer Games and 4 at Winter Games.

Country № Summer Gold Silver Bronze Total № Winter Gold Silver Bronze Total № Games Gold Silver Bronze Combined Total
Kingdom of Yugoslavia Kingdom of Yugoslavia532383000083238
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia SFR Yugoslavia11232725751003142123302679
Independent Olympic Participants 101230000010123
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia FR Yugoslavia222372000042237
Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro102021000020202
Total20283433951603143628373499

Reaction to Kosovo participation

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, only Kosovar athletes of Serbian ethnicity participated as part of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia. Тhe Olympic Committee of Kosovo was established 1992.[3] On 17 February 2008 Kosovo's Parliament declared independence from Serbia. Despite the invitation from the Serbian Olympic Committee, most Kosovo Albanians wanted to compete separately.[4] The OCK was recognised as a provisional member of the International Olympic Committee on 22 October 2014, before becoming a full member on 9 December 2014.[5] At that time, Kosovo was not a member or observer state of the United Nations, but it has gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 108 out of 193 UN member states. Serbia still continues to claim it as its own Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

In reaction to the decision of the International Olympic Committee to accept Kosovo as the full member, Vlade Divac said that the Serbian Olympic Committee did all they could, but now it was time to be "part of the society" and accept Kosovo in the Olympics. Foreign minister Ivica Dačić and minister of sports Vanja Udovičić expressed their protest, but said there would be no boycott of the games or any protests.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Official site of Olympic Committee of Serbia, 1896 Olympic Games (Serbian)
  2. ↑ Official site of Olympic Committee of Serbia, History of Olympic Committee (Serbian)
  3. ↑ "IOC grants provisional recognition to Kosovo Olympic Committee". olympic.org. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/olympics/18169687
  5. ↑ "127th IOC Session comes to close in Monaco". olympic.org. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Karolos Grohmann (10 December 2014). "Kosovo earns Olympic recognition, Serbia furious". Reuters.
  7. ↑ "Kosovo Gets Full Membership In International Olympic Committee". RFERL. Retrieved 9 December 2014.